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INCREASED PROFITS FOR SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED GARLIC | Full
Grant Proposal (Adobe PDF)
Garlic is a profitable crop for small to medium-sized vegetable
farmers in the Northeast. Despite the increasing market for specialty
garlics it is remarkable how little is known about the diverse
types of garlic available in the U.S. Farmers need to know
which garlic types perform well under their growing conditions,
and they need reliable descriptors to publicize these types
to their customers. In this proposal, Northeast vegetable farmers
will use sustainable practices to perform the first multi-year
garlic variety trial. We will determine how 10 garlic types
respond to cultural practices across 5 farms in the Northeast and
then recommend types that excel. This is a project that garlic
farmers value nationwide. In fact, we have six volunteer garlic
growers from other regions in the US who will participate
in this project with their expenses defrayed by the Garlic
Seed Foundation.
This project has one research and three outreach objectives:
Objective 1) Correlate the yield and qualities of
10 distinct garlic cultivars
with growth environment, inputs, quality, and chemical composition
data.
Objective 2) Increase public awareness of garlic diversity.
Objective 3) Develop name recognition and appreciation
for selected varietal garlics.
Objective 4) Attract new growers to this profitable
niche commodity.
Performance target: We will increase the yield, quality
and uniformity of garlic produced by small scale farms. In
the Northeast, the number of garlic growers will increase by 10%
(60 growers) and profits will increase by 25% for 300 of the
current garlic producers. In addition, nationally 100 growers
will begin garlic production and 2500 current growers will
have increased yields by growing garlics best suited to their
regional environments.
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